A layer of raspberries and chocolate is sandwiched between a streusel-like crust and topping in these vegan, 100% whole grain and dairy-free chocolate raspberry oat bars! Can also be made with all-purpose flour and butter.
My freezer is in a perpetual state of way-too-full. It’s pretty awful and I’m kind of shocked I haven’t broken the freezer yet with just how full I stuff it. The only reason I wanted to make these bars was to get rid of 2 1/2 cups of frozen berries but for some reason I can’t quite understand, I only used 1 1/2 cups.
Then I panicked because only half the crust was covered and that’s when I decided to dump on a bunch of chocolate. It was either that or start all over, which I really didn’t feel like doing, so the chocolate won. And now I get to share these lovely chocolate raspberry oat bars rather than just plain on raspberry bars. I’m okay with that. :)
Last summer, I made these strawberry oat bars and in that post, I said that I wanted to try a version with coconut oil, which would make these oat bars vegan + dairy-free. So in these raspberry bars, I reduced the fat by 4 teaspoons and that worked. The bars weren’t oily and held together well! If you don’t want to use coconut oil, use 3/4 cup butter instead of 2/3 cup coconut oil as listed below.
The raspberries only cover about half the surface so if you don’t want to add chocolate to the middle raspberry layer of the bars (like the above picture), I’d suggest going with 2 1/2 cups raspberries + 7 tablespoons raspberry jam. And adding lemon zest! Because berries without lemon zest is just sad.
If you use frozen berries (which I always do – I don’t like baking with fresh raspberries because they’re so expensive! They’re also great in these Raspberry Oatmeal Bars!) make sure that you’re not using super icy berries that are going to make things soggy. When I completely defrost my berries, I don’t really have any liquid in the bottom of the bowl. If you do, make sure to get rid of that! These oat bars should be slightly soft and chewy and so not soggy.
If you need something gluten-free, these Chewy Apple Oatmeal Bars from Veggie Balance look amazing!
Chocolate Raspberry Oat Bars (vegan, whole grain, dairy-free)
- Prep Time:
- Cook Time:
- Ready in:
- Yield: 16 bars
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (150 grams) rolled oats
- 3/4 cup (94 grams) white whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) brown sugar or raw sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2/3 cup (149 grams) room temperature coconut oil (should be as soft as room temp butter)1 or 3/4 cup (168 grams) unsalted butter for a non-vegan and non-dairy-free version
- 1 1/2 cups (159 grams) fresh or frozen raspberries2
- 5 tablespoons (100 grams) raspberry jam (make sure to use vegan jam, if necessary)
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 3/4 - 1 cup (135 - 180 grams) semi-sweet mini chocolate chips (or regular sized chips / chunks. Make sure to use dairy-free or vegan chocolate, if necessary.)
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C) and line an 8"x8" (20cmx20cm) baking pan with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, mix together the rolled oats, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
- Cut in the coconut oil using a pastry blender, two knives or your fingers, and mix until the dough just comes together. The dough should not be very crumbly, but should stick together.
- Gently press two thirds of it onto the bottom of the prepared baking pan.
- Bake for 10-13 minutes or until the edges just start to brown.
- Meanwhile, prepare the raspberry filling. In a medium bowl, mix together the raspberries, jam and vanilla. Lightly mash with a fork.
- Spread this mixture over the baked crust and then sprinkle about 1/2 cup (90 grams) chocolate chips over the raspberry layer.
- Sprinkle the remaining oat mixture over the chocolate chips.
- Bake for another 22-25 minutes or until the top has lightly browned and the filling is bubbly.
- Remove from the oven and top with more chocolate chips, if desired.
- Let the bars cool completely and then refrigerate for 2 hours before cutting.
- Store any leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. These can also be frozen.
Notes
- If you use unrefined coconut oil opposed to refined coconut oil, these bars will likely have a coconut taste to them. If your coconut oil is liquid at room temperature, you can use melted coconut oil in these bars. Mix all the crust / topping ingredients together and then put the bowl in the refrigerator for 10-20 minutes or until firm enough to be pressed onto the bottom of the pan.
- If using frozen raspberries, halfway thaw them so that there's no icy bits on them and discard of any juice at the bottom of the bowl.
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72 comments on “Chocolate Raspberry Oat Bars (vegan, dairy-free, whole grain)” — Add one!
Delicious! Have made several times with different berry jam combos. So far,I like the raspberries the best. Next batch I am going to try strawberry rhubarb with the chocolate.
I’m so glad to hear that you’ve been enjoying them! Rhubarb with chocolate?! That sounds interesting. I hope it’ll work out well! Thanks for your feedback. :)
I would like to make these for a friend, he gave me a bottle of raspberry syrup. How can I modify this to use that instead of raspberries and jam
It’s unfortunately not possible to use a runny syrup in place of fruit + jam. :( Sorry about that!
I love this recipe! I followed it completely and it was fairly easy and fast to prepare.
Yay! I’m glad to hear that. Thanks for your comment! :)
Looks delicious! Can I use oil( canola, vegetable or olive) instead of coconut oil or butter? Thanks
Thanks! I’m not so hopeful that that’d work. I’d recommend a fat that’s solid at room temperature. Sorry about that!
These were so delicious! I used butter and fresh raspberries. They were very easy to make and a huge hit at the BBQ tonight. I served vanilla bean icecream with the bars. Thanks for the recipe!
I’m so happy that they were a hit! Ice cream sounds like a great addition. Thanks for your comment! :)
Just wanted to say that I tried these using Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-1 Baking Mix and they were great! Thanks for the recipe!
That’s great to know! I’ve been meaning to try that mix in these bars. Thanks for letting me know that they came out well. :) So happy you liked them!
The squares are very crumbly, most of them fall apart when I pick them up, any ideas why? I have made them with coconut oil and butter and it’s the same issue, even after leaving them in the fridge overnight. Any idea why? They are so yummy though!! I don’t want to give up on this recipe!!
Definitely don’t give up! :) I’ve gotten a lot of feedback on this recipe and nobody seems to have had any issues with them being crumbly. Are you refrigerating them before cutting? Did you make any subs or changes at all to the recipe? Are you maybe using super coarse sugar? I’m not sure what else the issue could be if you’re following the recipe. I hope we can find the answer, though!
I made these bars and it was delicious. I couldn’t find the vanilla so I used lemon extract and it gave the filling an extra tart but good flavor! I later found the vanilla and added that too, hehe. My boyfriend can’t get enough!
Haha. I’m always losing ingredients so I can totally relate. ;) I’m so happy you liked them! Thanks for your comment.
Made these using almond extract instead of vanilla. Added chopped pecans with the berries (used raspberries and mixed berries from freezer) and chips. I used Splenda and sugar free chocolate chips and made it diabetic friendly. They are absolutely delicious.
I love your changes! They sound delicious. I’m very happy that it worked out well for you! Thanks a bunch for your feedback. :)
These bars are so delicious! I’ve made them multiple times now and they always work out. The combination of oats, chocolate and raspberry also goes together so nicely!
I’m thrilled to hear that! I love that combination, too. :) Thanks for your comment!
Hi…I loved the recipe…I’l try it tonight and tell you later how it goes…
I was wondering what other name do yoy have for raw sugar. I am from Chile and we don’t have any sugar called raw :-(
Hi there! Do you have granulated sugar? Or turbinado sugar? Both of those should work! I hope you’ll enjoy the bars. :)
Can you use a gluten free flour blend in place of the ww flour, if it’s a blend labeled as a 1:1 replacement?
I haven’t tried it but I’m pretty sure it’d work! And my apologies for the slow reply. I just got back from vacation and wasn’t able to access the page from my laptop where I approve and reply to comments. Sorry about that!
HI I am making this as my healthy recipe for health class for my project. I was wondering if you could give me the nutritional facts. Thanks so much !
You can copy and paste the recipe here for that info. :) Hope you’ll enjoy the bars!
Erin, these were fabulous! I modified it a bit and added some coconut greek yogurt in with the fresh rasberries and it was really yummy! Both my 3 year old and my 16 month old loved as well!
That sounds like a delicious addition! I got your email and can’t wait to see what they look like with the yogurt in there. :) Thanks a bunch for your feedback!
Mine stuck to parchment paper. Why?
I’m so sorry I didn’t see your comment until now! I’ve never had anything stick to parchment paper. What brand did you use? That sounds very strange.
I would just like to say that I’m vegan and just adding coconut oil doesn’t automatically make it vegan. In fact, adding chocolate to it cancels it out for all vegans.
Hi Haley! There’s plenty of vegan chocolate out there (which I mention in the recipe). Here’s some info on vegan chocolate: Is chocolate vegan? Where can I find vegan chocolate? and Your Definitive Guide to Vegan Chocolate. Everything else in the recipe is naturally vegan. I hope that helps!